Teeth

My first attempt at a short horror story

Auntie Anne smiled at Billy as he stumbled down into the rowboat.

“You’ll find your sea legs, don’t you worry young man.”

Billy managed a chuckle as he nestled himself in the bow, planting his feet as far apart as he could. Already the sea was getting choppy. Auntie Anne cast them loose and proceeded to work the oars with ease. Billy looked back at the shore and waved to the shrinking figure of his mother. She waved back.

Billy had just turned seven. He was a bright and lively boy, if a little cooped up. His mother had been looking for ways to broaden his horizons, deciding to pack him off for a weekend on Auntie Anne’s island. He hadn’t been exposed to the elements for a while, not like this. Maybe it would do him good.

“You alright pumpkin?”

“Yeah!”

Billy winced. He had a wobbly tooth, his first in fact, and the cold salty wind made it sting whenever he opened his mouth. Thankfully Auntie Anne didn’t tend to say much aboard her rowboat. This was her sacred time, ploughing homeward through the waves to the tune of nature’s chorus. She wasn’t about to spoil it by shooting her mouth off.

Soon enough the crags of the island were looming over them. Billy shivered, and Auntie Anne seemed to notice.

“Almost there now. Almost there.”

The gulls were wheeling overhead, as if gathering to scoff at Billy. The newcomer. The landlubber.

They approached a small wooden jetty, dancing on the crests of the waves. Auntie Anne moored them up and extended a strong weathered arm down to Billy. He tried to climb out unaided but the waves were getting stronger, knocking him to and fro.

“Come on pumpkin, I don’t bite.” Auntie Anne smiled.

Billy grabbed her arm and felt himself rising up and then down onto the eerily stable surface of the jetty. Auntie Anne didn’t let go of his hand. She led the way, with Billy staggering alongside her like a drunk.

Suddenly, it was raining. The wind hurled its droplets at the island like a million tiny bullets. The grey sea blurred into the grey sky and within seconds, Billy could feel his raincoat clinging to him. For a moment he resented his mother for sending him here. He dreamed of his bedroom back home. Of hours spent lying in bed, staring at the peeling stickers on his radiator. Where the fiercest storm couldn’t lay a finger on him.

Here, Billy felt exposed in every sense. Enfolded by the raw power of the elements. Auntie Anne had her head down, ploughing on through the downpour at an unwavering pace. Billy became aware that his grip on her hand had tightened. Though his dizziness had already subsided, he had no intention of letting go. The lights of her cottage were beckoning through the grey. Auntie Anne dragged him to the doorstep, and dug deep into her pocket for the key.

After what felt like an age, they were inside the cottage with a roaring fire and a cup of cocoa. Auntie Anne leaned back in her chair, eying Billy with a curious look.

“What are you thinking about, young man?

Billy took a swig of cocoa. He was staring into the fire.

“Nothing.”

“I find that hard to believe, bright young man like you.”

Billy looked at her.

“My tooth.”

Auntie Anne looked puzzled.

“What about it?”

“It’s gone.”

Billy opened his mouth, revealing a gap in his smile. One of the incisors on the top row. Blood mixed with cocoa began to dribble from Billy’s mouth into his cup. Auntie Anne got to her feet and crossed the room in a heartbeat.

“Oh you poor dear. Let’s get you to the kitchen.”

She pulled him to his feet and wrapped her hand around his, keeping the mug of cocoa beneath his chin as they marched to the kitchen sink.

Auntie Anne mixed up a salt solution and turned to Billy.

“Where’s the tooth? Did you swallow him up?”

Billy shook his head. He pointed to his bloodied mug of cocoa, now resting on the worktop. Auntie Anne relaxed.

“Alright pumpkin. Swill this salty water around your gnashers.”

Billy took a painful mouthful, sloshed it around a few times, and spat it into the sink.

Meanwhile, Auntie Anne picked up his cup of cocoa and proceeded to drain it into the sink until she spotted the tooth, protruding from the brown sludge like an island of chalk.

“There’s the beauty.”

She showed it to Billy. He smiled a gappy smile.

“It’s a big moment when your first baby tooth jumps ship. More to come laddie, more to come.”

She patted him on the back.

“After all that, we need a bit of music, wouldn’t you say?”

Billy nodded, and they returned to their chairs in the living room. Auntie Anne reached for a mandolin hanging on the wall. She tested its tuning and proceeded to play. Her fingers glided over the strings, letting loose a gentle yet mysterious melody. Billy began to sink into his chair, his eyelids growing heavy. But then, as the piece concluded, he sat up.

“Auntie Anne?”

Auntie Anne looked up at Billy, her fingers poised to play another piece.

“Yes?”

“Can we put my tooth out for the tooth fairy?”

Auntie Anne stared at him for a few moments. She cleared her throat and returned her mandolin to the wall. For the first time, she seemed a little uneasy.

Billy felt an instinctive need to clarify.

“Mum said I could put it under my pillow when it fell out. She said the tooth fairy would come and change it for a coin.”

Auntie Anne leaned back in her chair, her fingers drumming against her knees.

“I’m sorry Billy, but the tooth fairy doesn’t fly here.”

“Why?”

“Too windy. She’d get blown away like a dandelion seed.”

Billy was crestfallen.

“Oh.”

Auntie Anne reached for her mandolin once again. But Billy wasn’t finished.

“Can I still put it under my pillow? Just in case?”

Auntie Anne’s hands returned to her lap. She looked him straight in the eye.

“No. Don’t put it under your pillow.”

Billy looked puzzled.

“Okay.”

Auntie Anne didn’t seem satisfied, and neither did Billy. He sat up in his chair.

“Why not, Auntie Anne?”

Auntie Anne nodded, expecting the question. She looked out of the window. The rain had stopped and it was getting dark outside.

“This island has its secrets.”

Billy was intrigued.

“What secrets?”

Auntie Anne turned back to him.

“It’s a long story and you don’t need to know it. Just so long as you do as I say, you’ll be perfectly safe.”

Billy nodded.

“Okay Auntie Anne.”

She leaned forward, her expression quite serious.

“Promise me you won’t put that tooth under your pillow.”

“I promise.”

Auntie Anne kept looking at him for a while. Eventually she smiled and got to her feet, drawing the curtains.

“You’ve had a big day. Time for bed.”

Billy yawned and got to his feet. He glanced through the kitchen door and noticed his tooth, gleaming on the worktop. Billy explored the gap it had left in his mouth with his tongue. There was something weird about a former part of his body lying in a different room.

Auntie Anne followed his gaze.

“I’ll deal with the gnasher, don’t you worry. Follow me.”

Auntie Anne took Billy by the hand and led him up the rickety stairs. They crossed the landing to the guest bedroom. Billy stood in the doorway, taking it in. It was small, but perfectly comfortable. A narrow bed with a quilted cover spanned most of its length. Billy’s suitcase was sitting on the floor, still a little damp. Auntie Anne must have taken it up while he was warming himself by the fire. A set of wooden draws stood against the opposite wall, supporting a collection of unusually shaped pebbles. Through the window, Billy could make out a faint splatter of lights shining from the mainland.

Auntie Anne drew the curtains. She turned and smiled at Billy, hands on her hips.

“Will this do, Master Billy?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. You sleep well now. No rush in the morning.”

Billy gave her a hug.

“Goodnight Auntie Anne.”

“Goodnight laddie. Welcome to my island.”

She chuckled and walked out of the door.

Billy took a moment to survey his new home for the next six weeks. It would have to do.

He got into his pyjamas, brushed his teeth (those he had left) in the bathroom next door and slid under the covers. As he lay in bed, he realised he could still hear the muffled churn of the sea. He felt his eyelids grow heavy and was just about to let the wave of sleep wash over him when suddenly…

A thought struck him. His tooth. He’d waited a long time for it to fall out. He’d spent weeks wobbling it in class with his finger. If he wasn’t to receive payment from the Tooth Fairy, so be it. But did he not at the very least have the right to keep it?

Before he could process what he was doing, he found his legs sliding out from under the quilted cover and planting themselves on the floorboards. He opened the door, slinking across the landing and down the stairs. Auntie Anne was in the kitchen, humming.

Billy crept across the living room and hid behind an armchair. The humming stopped. Billy braced himself.

The humming started again. Ever so slowly, Billy raised his head, peering over the chair into the kitchen. Auntie Anne was standing at the worktop, trying to unscrew a bottle of something.

Billy couldn’t make out the label. A chemical of some kind, definitely inedible. Auntie Anne used a tea towel to loosen the lid. She proceeded to pour the clear liquid into a glass until it submerged… What was that? Billy squinted. The unmistakable form of his tooth rested on the bottom of the glass.

It began to fizz under the liquid. Auntie Anne watched for a moment. Apparently satisfied, she turned off the kitchen light, crossed the living room and climbed the stairs. Billy waited for the sound of her footsteps to die out. Then, ever so quietly, he made his way into the kitchen and turned on the light.

The tooth was fizzing away in the glass. It was smaller and rounder than he remembered it. He felt a pang of anger towards his aunt. The audacity, not only to confiscate the tooth, but also to dissolve it! This was too much. Local superstitions notwithstanding, this was Billy’s tooth. And he wanted it back.

Billy reached into the glass and stopped himself just before his fingers touched the surface of the liquid. He was smart enough to know that the substance eroding his enamel was probably a threat to his fingers too. He picked up the glass, about to drain the liquid down the sink. But he stopped himself again.

Auntie Anne had intended to dissolve the tooth. Billy deduced that she was thus expecting to find the glass in the morning exactly as she had left it, with the same volume of liquid and the tooth gone.

Billy found a cutlery drawer and pulled out a fork. Holding the glass at an angle, he clawed his tooth to safety. He washed it along with the fork, leaving the kitchen exactly as he had found it.

Soon enough, he was back in his bedroom without hearing a peep from Auntie Anne. He climbed under the covers, pleased with the success of his mission. He felt the tooth digging into his side through his pocket.

He hesitated. Auntie Anne had been rather serious in her warning. He reasoned that grown ups often seem to exaggerate things. He reached into his pocket, pulled out the tooth and slid it under the pillow. There. Either the tooth fairy would come and change it for a coin, or she wouldn’t. In the latter case, Billy would simply hide the tooth until he could stow it under his pillow back home. If the tooth fairy couldn’t visit the island, she would certainly manage Billy’s house on the mainland.

It took a while for Billy to fall asleep in his nervous excitement. But eventually, he drifted off. The next thing he knew, the morning sun was streaming through the gap in the curtains. It took a moment for Billy to remember.

He scrambled onto his knees and lifted the pillow. The tooth was gone. And in its place…

…A coin! Billy almost laughed with delight. The tooth fairy did business on this island after all. After getting dressed, Billy pocketed the coin and smiled. He peered through the curtains, taking in the beautiful landscape. The grassy hill tumbling down to the seething ocean below. In a moment, the pains of the previous evening were forgotten. This was an adventure.

He bounded down the stairs and into the kitchen where Auntie Anne was making bacon and eggs. The glass of corrosive fluid was nowhere to be seen.

“Good morning young man! You sleep alright?”

“Yes Auntie Anne. Very well, thank you.”

“Good man. You like bacon and eggs?”

Billy nodded hungrily.

“Think your teeth can handle them?”

Auntie Anne eyed Billy curiously. His heart stopped. Did she know?

Auntie Anne laughed. Billy relaxed.

They had breakfast and ventured out to a beach on the other side of the island. Auntie Anne had prepared a picnic hamper with a flask of tea for herself and jam sandwiches for Billy. She equipped him with a rock pooling net, a bucket and a spade. The sun was shining and there was a salty breeze, strong but refreshing. They had an easy morning, mostly occupied with Auntie Anne reading her book and Billy playing in the sand.

At midday, Billy became aware of a melody drifting over the beach. Like a music box but bigger.

“Auntie Anne?”

“Aye?”

“What’s that music?”

Auntie Anne strained to hear. Her eyes darted to the sea. She pointed. A rowboat carrying two men was approaching the shore. Billy watched them, intrigued.

“Who are they?”

“They’re from the sweet shop. Odd sorts, they are.”

“What are they doing here?”

“They wanna sell us some sweets I s’pose.”

Billy scrambled to his feet and waved with both arms. Auntie Anne grabbed him.

“Don’t. They’ll stop if you do.”

Billy looked at her innocently.

“But I want to buy some sweets.”

“You got any money?”

Billy pulled the coin out of his pocket. Auntie Anne’s eyes widened.

“Where’d you get that?”

“Mummy gave it to me.”

Auntie Anne nodded, a little uneasy.

“Okay then. Well, looks like they saw you.”

Already the rowboat had run aground. One of the men climbed out and waded towards Billy in his thick rubber boots. He smiled as Billy ran to meet him.

“Hello, young man. What can I do for you?”

“What sweets do you have?”

“All of them.”

The man unzipped his jacket and held it open. The inside was lined with beautiful illustrations of dozens of sweets, each labelled with their names and prices. Billy gasped. Auntie Anne joined them. The man smiled at her.

“Hello ma’am.”

“Hello. You from the mainland?”

“Yes we are. And fully loaded with stock.”

Auntie Anne nodded.

“Okay, Billy. Not too many now.”

Auntie Anne made her way back to the picnic rug.

Billy held the coin out to the man.

“How many pear drops can I get with this?”

The man smiled.

Auntie Anne watched the man climb onto the boat, mutter something to his partner, and open up a big wooden chest. He scooped a mass of sweets into a paper bag, and climbed back out of the boat to hand it to Billy. Just as Billy was about to leave, the man tapped him on the shoulder. He placed something in his hand and pointed at Auntie Anne, whispering something in Billy’s ear. Billy nodded. The man patted him on the back and climbed into the boat. His partner began to work the oars, and quickly, the boat pulled away from the island. It produced that strange music box melody once again. Billy skipped over, grinning. Auntie Anne looked down at him, hands on her hips.

“What did you get?”

Billy held up the bag. It was bulging.

“Pear drops.”

“Goodness me! Don’t eat them all at once or you’ll be sick.”

Billy nodded. He took something out of his pocket.

“The man told me to give you this. It’s for free.”

He held out a wrapped humbug. Auntie Anne took it.

“A humbug! My favourite. Thanks, Pumpkin.”

The two made their way back to the picnic rug, each sucking away at their sweets. As Billy manoeuvred a pear drop around the inside of his mouth, he became aware that another tooth was beginning to loosen. It seemed to give ever so slightly under his tongue, like a wooden floorboard. Strange. A second wobbly tooth already. Was that normal?

After another hour on the beach, the pair made their way back to the cottage and Auntie Anne took herself upstairs for a nap. Billy spent the afternoon in the living room, looking at picture books from Auntie Anne’s shelves while sucking away at his pear drops. The tooth was well and truly wobbly now. It got to six o’clock, Billy’s usual dinner time, and he was about to go upstairs and check on Auntie Anne. But then he heard her familiar footfall on the staircase.

Auntie Anne crossed the lounge to the kitchen. She smiled at Billy. She looked as though she had just woken up. Her hair was unkempt, and she was sweating.

“Just getting some dinner, young man.”

Billy nodded. Soon enough, he could sense the pleasing aroma of onions and sausages frying in butter. Billy passed the final half hour before dinner leafing through more picture books. The two sat down to eat at the little table in the kitchen.

They didn’t talk much. Billy enjoyed his sausages and mash, a favourite of his, although he had to be careful to chew it with his molars and not his new wobbly front tooth. When he finished, he looked up at Auntie Anne. She had only eaten half her plate. She was leaning back in her chair, rubbing her eyes.

“Gosh Billy, I think I need a lie down.”

Billy didn’t know what to do. He watched his aunt scramble to her feet, almost losing her balance. He’d never seen her like this. Sensing his concern, she turned to him.

“I’ll be okay. Aright if you do the dishes?”

Billy nodded.

“Thanks pumpkin.”

Auntie Anne left the kitchen and Billy heard her make her way up the stairs. He got to his feet and studied the collection of pans and utensils soaking in the sink. His mother had shown him how to do the washing up. Here, everything lived in an unfamiliar location. But he figured it out.

Afterwards, he treated himself to the final pear drop in his bag. And something extraordinary happened. The second tooth came out. Billy felt it detach in his mouth. He rushed to the kitchen sink and gargled some water as he’d done the night before. He washed the tooth under the tap and studied it. He couldn’t believe his luck.

Billy climbed the stairs and checked on Auntie Anne. She was fast asleep. Billy thought better than to wake her; she must have needed the rest. He retreated to his room and slid the tooth under the pillow. He climbed under the covers and drifted off.

This time, he remembered as soon as he woke up. He scrambled out of bed and lifted the pillow ceremoniously. The tooth was gone and in its place, a coin. Billy was ecstatic. He got dressed, pocketed the coin and bounded down the stairs for breakfast. Auntie Anne wasn’t up yet. Billy sat on an armchair, twiddling his thumbs.

Eventually, he heard the creaking of the staircase. Auntie Anne made her way across the living room. She looked more exhausted than when she went to bed. But she managed a smile.

“Good morning, Billy.”

“Good morning, Auntie Anne.”

Auntie Anne slumped down in the chair opposite him.

“I dunno what’s come over me. I better call your mum to pick you up. I’m not much fun like this.”

“It’s okay, Auntie Anne.”

Auntie Anne waved a hand.

“No, you came for an adventure. And I can’t show you much when I’m like this, other than the beach.”

“I like the beach.”

“You do? Well, you’ll be sick of it if it’s where we go every day.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Okay. Easy to please. We’ll go again today and see how I feel later.”

Soon enough, they were on the sand once again. This time, Auntie Anne brought a deckchair. She lay on it with a straw hat covering most of her face. Another beautiful day, with a strong sea breeze.

Billy spent an easy morning in the rock pools. Auntie Anne had forbidden him from swimming on account of the strong currents, and he didn’t mind. The cold frothing sea wasn’t exactly inviting.

At midday Billy began to hear that mysterious melody once again. There it was, riding over the surf. The sweet shop boat. Billy’s eyes darted to Auntie Anne, who was dozing in the sun. Would she let him buy sweets two days in a row? Probably not.

The man got out of the boat and beckoned Billy over.

“Hello again, young sir. What will it be today?”

“More pear drops.”

“You like those, don’t you? Well, we’ve got plenty.”

Billy produced the coin and bought another bag. He watched the man get back into his boat with his partner and off they went, to the twinkle of their tune. Auntie Anne hadn’t stirred. Billy sat next to her and popped a pear drop in his mouth. He gasped.

He had another wobbly tooth. A molar this time, on the bottom left of his jaw. Billy laughed, almost guiltily. Was this right? Do a person’s baby teeth really fall out this fast? He looked at the bag of pear drops. His mother had always warned him not to eat too many sweets or else his teeth would rot. But here, Billy’s teeth weren’t rotting. They were being jettisoned entirely! Billy had to agree that, on the face of it, the latter sounded worse. But baby teeth were meant to fall out. Adult teeth would eventually take their place. That’s what Billy had been told. This was all natural. It was just happening faster than he expected. Auntie Anne began to stir. Billy stuffed the remaining pear drops into his pocket.

“Billy?”

“Yes, Auntie Anne?”

“How hungry are you?”

“Quite hungry.”

“Okay. Let’s get you some lunch.”

The two made their way back to the cottage, and Auntie Anne managed to rustle up some corned beef and potatoes. While he was crunching into a potato, Billy felt his new wobbly tooth detach itself. He panicked. If Auntie Anne saw, she would surely confiscate it. With his mouth full of potato, Billy asked if he could go to the bathroom. Auntie Anne nodded, scarcely registering the question.

In the privacy of the bathroom, Billy managed to extract the tooth from the mass of potato in his mouth with his fingers. He washed it in the bathroom sink, swallowed the remaining potato and swilled out his mouth with a few handfuls of water.

He smiled at the mirror. Auntie Anne had already failed to notice the second missing tooth in his smile and she was unlikely to spot the third. Being a back molar, Billy himself could barely see the gap in the mirror. But when he probed it with his tongue, it was there alright. His mouth felt strangely empty.

The rest of the day went by with Auntie Anne dozing on an armchair and Billy looking at picture books. He managed to make some jam sandwiches for dinner. Auntie Anne was grateful.

“Aren’t you a well trained young man?”

Of course, that evening, Billy placed the new tooth under his pillow. And he woke up to find a coin in its place. Billy was no less ecstatic than before, but he began to ponder his unique situation. The Tooth Fairy was able to visit the island, of that he was certain. But something strange was going on. Before the trip, Billy hadn’t lost any teeth. Since eating the pear drops from the sweet boat, he had lost three in the space of three days. It seemed a remarkable coincidence, if indeed it was a coincidence.

Billy decided to put his hypothesis to the test. When the sweet boat came, Billy told the man he didn’t want anything. The man seemed a little disappointed, but gave Billy a smile.

“We’re here every day, you know that.”

Billy spent the rest of the day playing on the beach while Auntie Anne dozed. All the while, he explored his remaining teeth with his tongue, checking for loose ones. All were sturdy.

Billy felt a little disappointed going to bed that night without a new tooth to put under his pillow. But he needed to test the hypothesis. It took a while to get to sleep. Around midnight, he became aware of a damp smell in the room, like mildew. Eventually it passed. Billy thought little of it and drifted off to sleep.

The following day, he waited with anticipation for the sweet shop boat. Checking that Auntie Anne was asleep in her deck chair, he bought a bag of pear drops with the coin he’d earned from his third tooth. He pulled a sweet out of his bag and popped it into his mouth. The moment of truth. Sure enough, he felt a tooth loosen. This time, a canine on the top left. He gasped. It felt exhilarating to have made such a discovery. Billy had now confirmed that these particular pear drops were indeed loosening his teeth. But only ever one tooth at a time. It was magical.

The days went by. Billy decided to start conserving his funds. He thought better than to blow all his money on sweets. Each day going forwards, he bought half a bag of pear drops rather than a full bag. That gave him some change, which he hid in his room.

It was a perfect business. For every tooth he lost, he gained a coin. He invested half in the loosening of the next tooth, and accumulated the change. He was making a profit.

Auntie Anne didn’t seem to notice the many gaps opening in Billy’s smile. For the most part, she was so dozy that she could barely keep her head up. She had just enough energy to help Billy make the meals. She wasn’t in pain. In fact, she seemed content, as if trapped in a daydream. But she lacked the energy to do much. At Billy’s protests, she stopped threatening to call his mother and end the holiday. She didn’t take much persuasion. If Billy was happy, she was happy.

By the final week of his stay on the island, Billy had lost all his baby teeth, and all he could eat was soup. Auntie Anne had shown him a lovely carrot and coriander recipe, and he had mastered it. It was a pain not to be able to eat all the things he liked. But it was worth it. He now had enough money to buy something really special. A camera or a telescope. Maybe even a bicycle.

In those final days, Billy ignored the melody of the sweet shop boat. His teeth were all out. And if he was honest, he had grown sick of the pear drops. It came to his final night on the island. Auntie Anne was still in her exhausted yet contented stupour. She arranged for a friend on the mainland to ferry Billy the following day.

Billy went to bed as usual. But come midnight, he found himself lying awake. It took a moment for his senses to click into gear. He became aware of that strange damp smell once again. And this time, it was accompanied by a sound.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Billy sat up in bed. The room was dimly lit by a shaft of moonlight from between the curtains.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The wind whistled outside. Billy shivered. He scanned the room, alert.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Where was it coming from?

Billy’s heart was pounding. Though he could not bear to think about it, he just knew that there was something or someone, somewhere in the room.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

It was getting closer. A floorboard creaked. Billy cried out.

“Auntie Anne!”

Nothing. Auntie Anne was presumably fast asleep. Billy wanted to do something. Anything. To climb out of bed and turn on the light, revealing the foul fiend in his bedroom. But all he found himself doing was sitting, frozen, in bed.

The dripping grew closer still. Another floorboard creaked. Billy’s heart was in his throat.

“Auntie Anne!”

No use. And then he saw it. Something silvery was crossing the shaft of moonlight. Billy saw two grey eyes looking at him. A big rubbery mouth stretched across an even bigger face. Billy was paralysed with horror.

The mouth began to open, revealing a perfect set of sharp white teeth.

Billy’s teeth.